Canberra coach Ricky Stuart has warned the NRL against punishing players for displaying the aggression in which the game sells itself off.
It will likely prove a costly trip across the ditch for Raiders skipper Joe Tapine who was put on report twice against the Warriors on Sunday, but Stuart went into bat for him.
Tapine was fired up from the opening whistle and got involved in everything in a huge performance that helped earn his side a gutsy 16-10 victory in Auckland.
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The front-rower was placed on report in the 15th minute for a crusher tackle on Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and Tapine ridiculed the Warriors fullback for staying down.
After an animated chat with referee Adam Gee, who told Tapine he was close to being sin binned, Tapine mocked CNK with a crybaby impersonation.
“Joe released the player’s head. That’s what we practice to do, we practise releasing the head,” Stuart said in his post-match press conference.
“We keep getting told this game is about entertainment and that was an entertaining game tonight. But we can’t discipline aggression because our game and our broadcasters promote aggression.
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“We have to be careful that we don’t go and want to scrutinise aggressive actions in a game that is moulded on pure aggression and passion.
“On Wednesday night, we’ve got one of the most special games in our calendar happening and it has created its profile and culture and passion, Origin, through aggression.
“And I’m not at all promoting foul play, I’m dead against foul play. I’ve said before you will get a lot of accidental high shots with the speed and intensity of our game and that’s a part of it now, penalty given, I get that, that’s fine.
“I’m not promoting foul play but don’t go penalising, and I don’t mean penalising out there but with match review committees, we can’t just go willy-nilly bashing players for aggression because you need them in our game.
“We can’t keep calling ourselves an entertaining game and get the broadcasters money, well aggression is a big part of it.”
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New Zealand international Tapine again earned the ire of Gee again in the 75th minute for a shoulder charge on his former Test teammate Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.
“I take another level to my game (when playing in New Zealand),” Tapine said.
Raiders hooker Tom Starling was also placed on report and sin-binned for a high-flying charge at the head of a kicking Chanel Harris-Tavitain the 78th minute.
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